WHAT means this wat'ry canopy 'bout thy bed, These streaming vapours o'er thy sinful head? Are they thy tears? Alas, in vain they're spilt, 'Tis now too late to wash away thy guilt. Thou still art bloody Richard, and 'tis much The water should not from thy very touch Turn quite Egyptian, and the scaly fry Fear to be kill'd, and so thy carcase fly. Bathe, bathe thy fill, and take thy pleasure now In this cold bed; yet, guilty Richard, know, Judgment must come, and water then would be A heaven to thee midst hellish misery. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...LACK OF STEADFASTNESS; BALLAD by GEOFFREY CHAUCER A PRAYER IN SPRING by ROBERT FROST AT CASTERBRIDGE FAIR: 1. THE BALLAD-SINGER by THOMAS HARDY ON STURMINSTER FOOT-BRIDGE by THOMAS HARDY TO-NIGHT by LOUISE CHANDLER MOULTON |